The invention relates to protection of various surfaces from contaminants and from oxidation of surfaces in air and moisture. One of the primary applications includes the use of this technology in vehicle appearance products. Although, products for similar applications are widely available on the market, these products often require rinsing with water after use and usually rely on a temporary hydrophilic surface. Typically when the water dries from the surface, water marks, smears or spots are left behind due to the deposits of minerals which were present as dissolved solids in water. This problem is apparent when cleaning glass, painted surfaces, steel, alloy, plastic or ceramic surfaces. A means of solving this problem known in the literature is to dry the water from the surface using a cloth or chamois before the water marks form. However, this drying process is time consuming and requires considerable physical efforts.